Quimbaya civilization

For other uses, see Quimbaya (disambiguation).

Statuette of a Quimbaya cacique

The Quimbaya civilization was a South American civilization, noted for spectacular gold work characterized by technical accuracy and detailed designs. The majority of the gold work is made in tumbaga alloy, with 30% copper, which imparts beautiful color tonalities to the pieces. The Quimbaya inhabited the areas corresponding to the modern departments of Quindío, Caldas and Risaralda in Colombia, around the valley of the Cauca River. There is no clear data about when they were initially established; the current best guess is around the 1st century BCE.

The Quimbaya people reached their zenith during the 4th to 7th century CE period known as The Quimbaya Classic. From this period comes the most emblematic piece of this culture: the Poporo Quimbaya (currently exhibited in the Gold Museum). The most frequent designs in the art pieces are anthropomorphic, depicting men and women sitting, with closed eyes and placid expression. There are also many designs of fruits and poporos.

Most of the retrieved items are part of funeral offerings, found in the inside of sarcophagi made of hollow trunks. The gold represented a sacred metal and the passport for the afterlife. Around the 10th century the Quimbaya culture disappeared entirely due to unknown circumstances; studies of the archeological items point to an advanced cultural development and the political structure of a cacicazgo with separated groups dedicated to pottery, religion, trade, gold work and war.

Quimbaya gold poporo and pestle, at the Gold Museum, Bogotá

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Quimbaya.

Quimbaya artwork, National Museum of the American Indian
The Art of Precolumbian Gold: The Jan Mitchell Collection, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Quimbaya civilization

Ancestry and ethnicity in Colombia

Indigenous peoples	Achagua Andaqui Andoque Arhuaco Awa-Kwaiker Baniwa Barasana Bora Calima Cauca Carabayo Carijona Chimilas Chitareros Cocamilla Cofán Cubeo Emberá Embera-Wounaan Guahibo Guambiano Guane Kuna Hiwi Hup Inga Kamëntsá Kogi Lache Macuna Mokaná Motilon Muisca Nukak Nutabes Paez Patángoro Piaroa Pijao Quechua Quimbaya Siona Siriano Sutagao Tahamí Tairona Ticuna Tinigua Tucano U'wa Wayuu Witoto Yagua Yarigui Yukpa Zenú

Immigrants	Afro-Colombians (Raizal) Arab Colombians (Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian) Japanese Colombians Mestizo Colombians White Colombians German Colombian Italian Colombian Jewish-Colombian Spanish Colombians Uruguayan Colombians

See Also Lists of Colombians Race and ethnicity in Colombia

Pre-Columbian civilizations and cultures
Americas	Paleo-Indians · Genetic history · Archaeology of the Americas · Indigenous peoples of the Americas
North America	North American pre-Columbian cultures – Caddoan Mississippian – Chichimeca – Hopewell tradition – Coles Creek – Fremont – Marksville – Mississippian – Mogollon – Plaquemine – Plum Bayou – Poverty Point – Troyville – Weeden Island
Mesoamerica	Mesoamerican pre-Columbian chronology – Capacha – Cholula – Coclé – Epi-Olmec – Huastec – Izapa – Mezcala – Mixtec – Olmec – Pipil – Quelepa – Shaft tomb tradition – Teuchitlan – Purépecha – Teotihuacan – Tlatilco – Tlaxcaltec – Toltec – Totonac – Veracruz – Xochipala – Zapotec
South America	South American Indigenous people – Pre-Columbian chronology – Cañaris – Chachapoya – Chancay – Chavín – Chimú – El Abra – Hydraulic culture of mounds (Bolivia) – Las Vegas – Lima – La Tolita (Tumaco) – Manteño-Guancavilca – Mapuche – Moche – Mollo – Muisca (Chibchas) – Nariño – Nazca – Norte Chico – Quimbaya – San Agustín – Shuar – Sican – Taíno – Tairona – Tiwanaku – Tierradentro – Valdivia – Wari
	Aztec	Maya civilization	Inca Empire – Andean civilizations
Language	Nahuatl	Mayan languages	Quechua
Writing	Aztec writing	Maya script	Quipu
Religion	Aztec religion	Maya religion	Inca religion
Mythology	Aztec mythology	Maya mythology	Inca mythology
Calendar	Aztec calendar	Maya calendar
Society	Aztec society	Maya society	Inca society
Infrastructure	Chinampas	Maya architecture	Inca architecture (road system) Incan agriculture
History	Aztec history		Inca history Neo-Inca State
People	Moctezuma I Moctezuma II Cuitláhuac Cuauhtémoc	K'inich Janaab' Pakal Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil Jasaw Chan K'awiil I	Manco Cápac Pachacuti Atahualpa Manco Inca Yupanqui Túpac Amaru II
Conquest	Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (Hernán Cortés)	Spanish conquest of the Maya Spanish conquest of Yucatán (Francisco de Montejo) Spanish conquest of Guatemala (Pedro de Alvarado)	Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire (Francisco Pizarro)
See also
Portal:Indigenous peoples of North America – Portal:Mesoamerica – Columbian Exchange – Mesoamerican writing systems – Native American cuisine – Native American pottery – Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas – Pre‑Columbian art – Painting in the Americas before European colonization

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Quimbaya civilization

See also

External links